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My teasing smile faded as the words poured out of Mazie, along with some tears streaming down her face. I couldn’t make much sense of what she said, but the pain I felt for her made my lungs freeze solid.
“Slow down.” Turning her stool in my direction, I gently wiped her cheeks with my thumbs. “You were in the general store and . . . someone else was there with you?”
She sniffed and sucked in a deep breath, slowly releasing it. “Betty owns the general store. She has for as long as I can remember. I worked there during the summers in high school. Anyway. She and I were the only ones in the store until a guy came in. I’d just finished paying for your clothing when he strode up to the counter.”
My heart shuddered, though I knew there was no valid reason for the feeling—yet. “Describe him for me.”
She did, but the description was so generic, he didn’t sound familiar. “He was looking for a tall guy with dark hair, blue-gray eyes, lots of scars. He himself had been burned. I’ve seen scars like that before.” Her gaze shot to my bare chest where the proof I’d survived still blazed in a network of pink and faded white. Only a few of mine came from fire. “The guy said he didn’t want to involve the police.”
“There are a lot of men around who are tall and have my same coloring.” I wasn’t going to get worried yet, though unease wormed its way through my flesh, making it twitch. “Scars too.”
“He said the man he was looking for was his brother, that the guy had psych issues, that he could be dangerous.” She frowned. “Actually, he didn’t say the last bit, though he implied it.”
My shoulders loosened, though the feeling of having a target in the middle of my back persisted. “See, then? He can’t be looking for me.”
“Maybe he escaped the commune.”
“I took care of every one of them. I went through the ashes, found their bones. They’re dead.” I would’ve killed them again if they weren’t. “After that, I lived in the woods nearby, watching the area for months. No one survived that blaze.”
Hope bloomed in her eyes. “You think this is nothing?”
I wanted to. Even more, I wanted to reassure her. “I’m sure of it.”
“All right.” Her face smoothed, and the tension she’d held in her limbs loosened. “I’m sorry I got all worked up about it. I was convinced he was looking for you. I drove all over the place on my way home in case he was following me. That look in his eyes . . . It pinned me in place. I could swear he could sense I was hiding something. Hiding you.”
“You weren’t followed.” I said it carefully.
She shook her head. “I made sure I wasn’t. I even parked my SUV a few doors down from here before coming home. The lady who lived there died, and her family hasn’t done anything with the house yet. I came here through the backyards.” Her soft laugh burst out. “Now I feel silly. I was so scared when I had no good reason.”
Maybe, and maybe not. There was no harm in being careful.
“I’m sorry. Your gorgeous quiche is getting cold.” She tugged the glass plate closer and grabbed the knife to cut it. “Let’s dig in, shall we?”
“You’re going to love it. Despite being . . . well, locked up, shall we say, I’m a fantastic cook. I studied in New York and then Paris. I was about to open my own restaurant in . . .” I lost the memory.
“You’re remembering,” she said softly, her gaze flicking to the quiche. “That’s wonderful.”
If it was wonderful, why did a few shadows still linger in her eyes?
Chapter 9
Mazie
Ifelt a bit foolish for freaking out like that, but better to be cautious than ignore my instincts, right?
We ate half the quiche.
“You’re right. It’s amazing,” I said, laying my fork on my empty plate. “You’re a fantastic cook.”
He was beginning to remember his past.
I was going to have to tell him about our history soon. Not today, though. I wanted him to get to know me a bit, to relax and start feeling normal, if such a thing was possible after his horrendous experience. I’d introduce him to Asher later and . . . We’d see how that went too. It wasn’t like I could spontaneously announce to both of them that Gravor was his dad. This had to be handled in a delicate manner for both their sakes.
“I wonder what happened to the restaurant I was going to open?” he asked, frowning down at his empty plate. “Maybe Kuunik knows.”
“I bet he does. He said you two were close.”
“Very. We’re twins, though not identical. Some twins are rivals, but me and Kuunik never were. I adore my older brother.” His low laugh rang out. He left his stool and stacked our plates, bringing them over to the sink and running water on them. Turning, he leaned against the counter. “I say older, but he beat me by only by twelve minutes. Kuunik’s strong willed, in case you haven’t noticed.”
